Tech

Dude Perfect, the five-member comedy and sports YouTube creator company, hauled in more than $100 million in growth capital from private investment firm Highmount Capital — which they plan to use to flex their brand well beyond online videos. The companies didn’t disclose the specific dollar figure. A source familiar with the funding said the

Warner Bros. Discovery has found a buyer for Rooster Teeth‘s Roost Podcast Network: Night, the talent management company for several big YouTubers and Twitch streamers including MrBeast. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. The sale comes after Warner Bros. Discovery’s decision last month to shut down Rooster Teeth. In addition to seeking a new

Disney‘s games group has bulked up executive ranks with new hires and promotions after the announcement of its $1.5 billion investment in Epic Games and partnership to create a virtual world featuring the Mouse House’s brands and characters. Ray Gresko, formerly chief development officer at Blizzard Entertainment (who left prior to its the Microsoft acquisition

Spotify already has numerous ways for listeners to find music to listen to on its platform. Now it’s adding a new AI tool that can automatically compile a playlist based on user-entered text strings. The company has launched a beta version of a feature it calls AI Playlist, available first to Spotify Premium subscribers in

Live events promoter AEG Presents U.K. has rebranded and expanded its comedy division. Following the appointment of comedy specialist Georgie Donnelly as head of comedy, Donnelly is expanding the division to encompass entertainment, which is reflected in the name change from comedy division to comedy and entertainment. The division, which will continue to promote top

New York City is calling all intrepid heroes. Dimension 20, the popular Dungeons & Dragons show streamed on Dropout, is heading to Madison Square Garden on Jan. 24, 2025, for a live tabletop show experience, titled “Dimension 20: Gauntlet at The Garden.” Hosted by comedian and dungeon master Brennan Lee Mulligan, Dimension 20 consists of

Meta filed a motion Friday requesting the dismissal of the Federal Trade Commission’s antitrust lawsuit against the social media company — arguing the agency still hasn’t provided any basis for its litigation, which could potentially force Meta to divest Instagram and WhatsApp. In December 2020, the FTC and more than 40 state attorneys general sued the company

Supermodel and beauty entrepreneur Winnie Harlow has signed with WME for representation in all areas. Harlow became the first model with vitiligo to walk in the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show in 2016. She is an outspoken advocate of inclusivity and diversity within the beauty and modeling industries, and has amassed over 11 million followers across

Women’s pro hoops are coming back to Amazon‘s Prime Video for at least two more years. Prime Video and the WNBA on Friday announced a rights renewal deal under which Prime Video will continue to be the exclusive U.S. streaming partner for a package of 21 games each season, including the Championship Game of the

Some subscribers to Disney‘s streaming services will start seeing some new messaging up this summer: Pay up for anyone outside your main household who’s illicitly piggybacking on the services — or face potentially getting disconnected. According to Disney chief Bob Iger, the Mouse House this June will “be launching our first real foray into password

Video platform provider Vimeo named Philip Moyer, a senior exec at Google Cloud overseeing AI applied engineering and business development, as CEO and member of its board. Moyer’s appointment is effective April 8, 2024. Adam Gross, who took over as Vimeo’s interim CEO after the exit of Anjali Sud (who left to join Fox Corp.’s

Trian Partners founder Nelson Peltz has accepted defeat — for now. Peltz, a day after the activist investor lost a costly proxy battle with Disney, went on CNBC’s “Squawk on the Street,” Thursday to discuss what happened. “The shareholders have voted. They want to give management and the board a chance. So be it,” he

Minutes into the medieval intro of “The Faceless Lady,” a fair maiden rips off her face. You immediately feel a bit nauseated. But did the violence trigger that reaction — or is it the fact that the action seems to be happening somewhere deep in your visual cortex? “The Faceless Lady,” a collaboration between Meta

YouTube is back as the exclusive streaming partner for this year’s Coachella — and it’s introducing a multiview feature that will let fans watch up to four live performances at once. YouTube’s multiview feature will be available for the first time at this year’s Coachella, and according to the video platform it’s the first time

Spotify announced the appointment of Christian Luiga, a senior executive at European defense and security company Saab AB, as its next CFO. Luiga, 55, is expected to start at the music and audio streamer in the third quarter of 2024. Ben Kung, Spotify’s VP of financial planning and analysis, will serve as interim CFO until

It appears that Elon Musk’s X, formerly known as Twitter, has restored blue check marks to popular users overnight — and some of them are taking to the platform to clarify that they didn’t pay for the perk. Musk detailed his plan to remove legacy blue checks soon after he acquired Twitter in October 2022,

TikTok is returning as the official entertainment partner for this year’s Eurovision Song Contest. This marks the social media platform’s third year teaming up with Eurovision, the world’s largest music event. This year’s Song Contest is taking place in Malmö, Sweden, where 37 countries will put their best musical representatives forward in a worldwide song

Marketing veteran Scott Donaton has joined VersusGame, an AI-powered interactive content company, as chief marketing officer. Donaton, most recently senior VP of marketing at Disney’s Hulu, will oversee all marketing functions for Versus, including brand strategy, communications, content, social media and consumer insights. Donaton had joined Hulu in 2019; he introduced the streaming industry’s first

Steve-O said on a recent episode of his “Wild Ride!” podcast that he had to turn down a request to appear on Bill Maher‘s podcast because Maher allegedly refused not to smoke pot during the interview. “Jackass” alum Steve-O is 16 years sober. Maher is often seen smoking marijuana during his “Club Random” podcast interviews.

The Webby Awards have announced nominations for the 2024 ceremony, recognizing excellence in internet content. Variety landed three Webby nominations, for: best website (in the general websites and mobile sites – entertainment category); 2023 Actors on Actors (in the video series and channels – entertainment category); and “I’m Not a Victim: Pamela Anderson Opens Up

Tom Ryan co-founded the free, ad-supported streaming service Pluto TV, which launched 10 years ago with a linear TV-like grid and a cluster of “live” channels stocked with online videos. Viacom, one of Paramount Global’s two predecessor companies, acquired Pluto TV for $340 million in cash in January 2019. Ryan stayed on board as chief

The battling factions of “Red vs. Blue” are getting one last adventure — in which they must team up to fight a common enemy — that will soon available on a screen near you, even though Rooster Teeth is closing its doors. “Red vs. Blue: Restoration,” the 19th and final season of Rooster Teeth‘s groundbreaking

Sam Bankman-Fried, the disgraced founder of the failed FTX cryptocurrency exchange, was sentenced to 25 years in prison by a federal judge Thursday. A federal jury in November 2023 convicted Bankman-Friend on seven counts of fraud and conspiracy related to the collapse of his cryptocurrency company and related hedge fund. The charges had carried a

Entrepreneur and model Karlie Koss, together with her husband, billionaire investor Joshua Kushner, is bringing LIFE back to life, more than two decades after the more than century-old iconic photo magazine ceased regular publication. Kloss and Kushner’s Bedford Media on Thursday announced a deal to bring LIFE Magazine back to print and digital distribution, as

Joe Rogan‘s massively popular podcast not only drives millions of listens of his show on Spotify — it also can boost music streams of guests featured on “The Joe Rogan Experience,” too. One of Spotify’s theses behind its investment in podcasts is that they spur higher engagement for the music side of the house: Users

Professional prankster and stunt performer Johnny Knoxville is getting behind the podcast mic for “Pretty Sure I Can Fly” — a show that “explores and celebrates the remarkable and slightly unhinged people who have pushed history forward and redefined the limits of human potential,” per the podcast’s producers. “Pretty Sure I Can Fly,” co-hosted by

Stassi Schroeder Clark’s weekly lifestyle podcast, “Straight Up With Stassi,” has joined Dear Media’s roster of 80-plus shows — and it’s getting a new name. Beginning today, the podcast will be renamed “Stassi.” With distribution deal for Schroeder Clark’s podcast, Dear Media has announced a “refreshed content format” along with new visual branding across all

Ninja, the professional video game player and most-followed Twitch streamer in the world, revealed he was diagnosed with skin cancer. “Alright I’m still in a bit of shock but want to keep you all updated. A few weeks ago I went in to a dermatologist for an annual skin/mole check that Jess proactively scheduled for

Subscribers to both Disney+ and Hulu will now see the “full” Hulu experience in the Disney+ app — and the Mouse House wants to use the official launch of the integrated product to convert standalone Disney+ customers into two-service subs. Starting Wednesday (March 27), the full Hulu on Disney+ experience is rolling out in the

After two years of hosting his own podcast, Bill Maher will help others do the same with Club Random Studios, a podcast network and entertainment hub aiming to champion “authenticity from unfiltered celebrity voices.” Besides Maher’s own “Club Random,” the network’s first show is “The Sage Steele Show,” hosted by Sage Steele, dropping March 27.